Major Tim Peake makes history as he arrives at the International Space Station

British astronaut Tim Peake has made history as the first Brit to board the International Space Station.

"Major Tim" took off from Kazakhstan earlier on Tuesday, on board the Soyuz space capsule.

Mr Peake, who is the first UK citizen in space for 24 years and the first ever to be funded by the European Space Agency, was accompanied by fellow crew members Russian Yuri Malenchenko and American Tim Kopra.

The former Army pilot, who sports a Union flag on his sleeve, will spend six months aboard the ISS, where he will conduct a number of scientific experiments.

He will also be carrying out educational projects aimed at attracting young people into science, and will be running the equivalent of the London Marathon while in space.

Docking at the space station is considered one of the most hazardous stages of the journey, but the crew managed to dock successfully just after 5.20pm - around ten minutes behind schedule.

The capsule, which made a six and a half hour journey through space, spent just over 30 minutes completing its fly-around as the astronauts on-board made sure every part of the capsule was precisely aligned with the station, while travelling at a speed of 20 to 30 centimetres per second.

Tensions rose as there were difficulties in manoeuvring the capsule into position, but the crew managed to arrive successfully after Yuri Malenchenko took manual control and backed the capsule away before making a second attempt to re-align it with the station's docking port.

Speaking before the launch, Mr Peake said: "Any time two vehicles come in close proximity in space is hazardous.